The Greathouse's: March 2009

Isaac turned one month old yesterday! He is getting bigger by the day- not sure how much he is weighing, but we go to our pediatrician appointment tomorrow. At his 2 week appt. he was exactly 8 pounds. He definately likes to eat and keeps mommy busy in that department!

Isaac is sleeping VERY well. Lately he is going anywhere from 3-5 hours between feedings at night. Last night he went down at about 10:00 and didn't wake up again until 3am and again at about 7:30 am! He is such a sweet baby! When he gets up in the night though he likes to stay awake for a while singing, grunting & snorting in his bassinet....after so long mommy needs some sleep and he gets in bed with us...shuts him right up! Hopefully we are not forming a habit here!

For the past month we have had family visiting us and now everyone is gone so we are just getting used to things on our own. Andy's mom came out for about 2 weeks and then his dad and neice visited for a few days. The day they left Andy's brother and sister in law came out with there family for a few days. It is hard to see everyone go since they are so far away, but I am looking forward to getting into some sort of routine.

I can't even explain how much I love being a mother. It has been so amazing so far and I am enjoying everything about it. Just looking at him brings tears of joy to my eyes. He is such a gift from God.

He also has an amazing daddy. Andy is so helpful and loves his boy! He has had to travel 2 weekends since Isaac was born and it was really hard on all of us. We just got a web cam so he can see us when he is on the road. Thankfully Andy will be home for a little bit and in April Isaac and I are going to be able to go along with him on one of his trips. Andy has to go to Annapolis, MD and since it's just a 4 hour drive we are going to drive and all go. Should be fun!

Here are some pictures from this week:

(Warning: This post has Isaac's first picture into this world...he's a little bloody, but it's not graphic or bad. Also, very long post!)

I thought I would share a little about the day Isaac was born. As you know I was scheduled to have a C-section on the 26th of February, but Isaac had something better in mind. At about 8am the day before the C-section, I stood up from the couch to find that my water had broken. As I stood there in shock for a minute I rushed to the bathroom and sure enough it just kept coming! This was it, I was sure! So I immediately called Andy who was on his way into work. He was halfway through the Holland Tunnel and said he would turn around right away and come home. Not having talked to the doctor yet, I told him not to hurry, to do whatever he needed to in the office and I would call him as soon as I talked to the doctor. I called the doc's office and was told that he wasn't in until 10, to which I replied...well I need to talk to someone because my water just broke! She said...well that's a different story...you sound very calm. So they began to page my doctor who was at the hospital. Since he was busy there she told me just to go ahead and go to the hospital and she would call and let them know I was on my way. I asked her if I needed to hurry and get there because I wanted to take a shower and get ready and she said that was fine. I was not feeling ANY contractions, so I was pretty calm and just took my time getting ready and getting stuff around. Andy got home around 11 and we were on our way after many phone calls were made.

~Last belly shot, getting ready to head to the hospital~
We got checked into our room about 11:30 and they gave me my gown and hooked me up to the IV (yuck!). My doctor finally came in and did a scan on me just to double check that the baby was still breech and he was so we knew we would still have the C-section. Since I had already eaten breakfast we had to wait for my food to digest and I had to get 2 bags of fluid in me and antibioticssince I tested positive for something called GBS.

~In my gown!~

Andy and I just hung out and relaxed and waited until it was time. They had allot of C-sections scheduled before me so they didn't know when I would go. All I wanted to do was eat and have something to drink! I couldn't even have ice chips! It was a SMALL price to pay however! At around 4pm...the anethesiologist came in and my stomach dropped. This was what I was most scarred about and it meant it was TIME! The nurse came in and told me what would happen and gave me some booties and a hair net to wear and made me drink a very disgusting drink that helps settle your stomach acid so you don't vomit in surgery. At this point my body was shaking and my nerves just took over. My doctor was very reassuring and made me feel a little better.

Here I am getting ready to walk into the OR.

I had to go in without Andy and get prepped and the spinal epidural before they would let him in so I was trying to be calm. As soon as they put in the spinal, I could feel my legs and everything start to tingle like your whold body had fallen asleep. I was then numb from the chest down pretty quick, but I still could move my arms and head. It was the weirdest feeling ever! Then they finally brought Andy in and I could tell he looked pretty nervous. I was worried he might pass out, but he was fine!

At 4:31 pm. Isaac was born ( although we didn't know his name then)

When they were starting to pull him out I just felt overwhelmed and started crying and Andy was too. Isaac cried allot when he came out, I was asking if he was ok. Then Andy went over with him while they cleaned him up and stuff. I actaully saw this picture of him before I got to see him, because they took him to be weighed and measured. Andy came over to me and I was just asking him all these questions, what does he look like? Does he have hair? And Andy showed me the pictures! They finally brought him over to me and I got to see him for a minute before he and Andy left to go to the nursery. I got sewed up and this was the most nerve wracking time of the whole thing. I just wanted it over with and to see him! After about a 1/2 hour I think? They rolled me to recovery and pretty soon Andy came in and then they brought Isaac to me and I fed him right away! He was so awake and alert. After about an hour I was feeling good and they took us to our room. Isaac stayed with us in our room the whole time and did really well feeding. We could have stayed until Sunday, but we decided to head home on Sat. since I was feeling so good and really just wanted to get out of the hospital. We got home Sat. morning and my parents got in about 30 minutes later. It was great timing and we had a wonderful time together!

Isaac is doing very well and already has his days and nights figured out. He eats all the time during the day and sleeps good at night. I am only getting up about 2-3 times at night to change and feed him. Daddy even gets up at least once and changes his diaper and hands him to me to eat. I am recovering great and feeling almost back to normal. We even took Isaac on a walk in the stroller yesterday since it was in the 50's!

Overall, it was an amazing experience and I wouldn't change a thing! I was so against getting a C-section, but in the end I am very happy with it and am not in the least bit disappointed with my birth experience. I am so thankful to God that my water broke on it's own and for the wonderful gift he has given us!